Joel Santo DomingoApple Mac mini (HDMI)The Apple Mac mini (HDMI) is an all-around improvement with a new unibody aluminum chassis to match the rest of the Macintosh line. The mini is the mainstream, compact PC you've been searching for, and it <i>defines</i> its category.

The Apple Mac mini (HDMI) is an all-around improvement with a new unibody aluminum chassis to match the rest of the Macintosh line. The mini is the mainstream, compact PC you've been searching for, and it defines its category.

With a new aluminum unibody chassis and a host of new components, the Apple Mac mini ($699 list) is the best little Mac on the marketmaybe even the best mini PC. Improvements include better 3D graphics, a new SD card slot, greater energy efficiency, and an HDMI port that HTPC (home theater PC) fans have been clamoring for. The Mac mini is finally the mainstream, compact PC you've been searching for. It defines its category, and as such, it earns our highest recommendations and our Editors' Choice.

Similar Products

Design
The Apple Mac mini has been a design favorite since its introduction in 2005. However, while the components have improved and evolved from PowerPC G4 to Intel Core 2 Duo, the box has looked pretty much the same for the past 5 years. Not anymore. The new mini measures 1.4 by 7.7 by 7.7 inches (HWD) compared to the old 2 by 6.5 by 6.5 inches. Four of the six surfaces are now all aluminum, including the top and three of the four sides. The mini's back panel, which includes all its ports, is mainly black matte plastic. The system has the same shape as the old Mac mini, but its aluminum casing looks much cooler.

The back connectors include four USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, audio in and out, and Mini DisplayPort. There are also three new features: a two-pin AC cord connector, a SD card slot, and, finally, an HDMI port. Yes, you can now connect the Mac mini to a HDTV or other monitor with HDMI for a one-cable audio/video link. The system also comes with an HDMI-to-DVI adapter, so you can connect to every modern monitor, except for those that are VGA or (regular) DisplayPort only. You can even use a dual-link DVI monitor like Apple's venerable 30-inch Cinema HD display. Both the Mini DisplayPort and the HDMI port are active at the same time, so you can drive two monitors simultaneously. Both are hot-pluggable, and the system automatically extends the primary desktop to any new secondary monitor.

The SD card reader is notable, because it supports all three flavors of SD: regular SD (up to 2-4GB), SDHC (up to 32GB), and SDXC (up to 2TB theoretically, currently shipping at 64GB). All of the major digital camera manufacturers use some version of SD cards. I would've liked to have seen an eSATA port, like on the Dell Inspiron Zino HD ($557 direct, ), but that's not a deal breaker, since the system comes with a speedy FireWire 800 port for external hard drives.

One thing the new Mac mini is missing is its old power brick, being that the power supply is now built-in, like most other PCs or electronic devices. The system is a little wider as a consequence, but that's a fair trade-off since it's also shorter. By contrast, most nettops, like the Dell Zino, have external power bricks that create clutter. The new power cord is the same as the one on the Apple TV ($229 direct, ): a two-prong/two-pin model that's similar to the one you get with other consumer electronics devices. It's not the three-prong standard power cord you get with most PCs, but since it doesn't have the ground pin, it's more flexible. The power cord will work on older wall sockets that lack the third pin, and you can use two-prong extension cords with the new Mac mini. Overall it's a great improvement over the old power cord with its external power brick.

Features
The Mac mini features a 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (Windows says it's the Core 2 Duo P8600), 320GB 5,400-rpm SATA hard drive, DVD and CD burning SuperDrive, 2GB of DDR3 memory, and an IR sensor for an optional Apple Remote ($19). The new system trumps the older one in ease of upgrading the memory, since the bottom contains a circular access panel. Just rotate it a few degrees with your thumbs and you'll expose the two memory slots, one of the three Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennas, and the cooling fan. You'll have to pop out the included two 1GB sticks to upgrade up to 8GB, a minor nuisance.

For better or worse, memory is the only upgrade you can do yourself. If you want a larger 500GB hard drive, you'll either have to order it preinstalled, or have it done at a service center or Apple Store. The rest of the system is not user serviceable. Regardless, this mini is an improvement over the old, which required special opening toolsor a putty knifeto crack the thing open.

The Mac mini comes with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and iLife software. It asks you to subscribe to MobileMe ($99 direct, ) during the registration process, but this service is optional and can be skipped. MobileMe helps you remotely backup and sync stuff like bookmarks, contacts, files, and photos. It can be handy if you already have other Macs or Apple iOS devices: iPhone 3GS ($199-$299 list, ), iPod Touch ($299 direct, ), iPad ($699 direct, )). There's no other bloatware, a refreshing change from Windows systems that have often ship with lots of trialware preinstalled.

There's a version of the Mac mini preloaded with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Server. It eschews the optical drive for two 500GB 7,200-rpm hard drives and automatically comes with more memory and a faster CPU. PCMag.com Business Analyst Samara Lynn will have a review shortly.

The original Mac minis were power efficient, and the new Mac minis are even more so. As you'd expect, the system exceeds Energy Star 5.0 requirements, thanks to its 90 percent efficient power supply. You also get EPEAT Gold certification, BFR/PVC/Lead-free construction, a smaller shipping box (a smaller system means less packing material), and 68 percent less plastic with more recyclable aluminum in the chassis. The system's power usage is down overall: The last Mac mini (GeForce 9400M) idled at 15 watts with 34 watts power usage during our Cinebench R10 test. This score was already one of the lowest we've seen. However, the new Mac mini only uses about 7-8 watts while idling, and 26 watts while running Cinebench R10. This score is the lowest we've seen in a full-functioned desktop with discrete graphics, and even trounces Atom-powered nettops like the Polywell Giada ION-100 ($449 street, ) (26 watts idle, 28 watts in Cinebench R10), since the nettop's power usage stayed the same, even when idling. I observed a low of 6 watts while I was reading a static Web page (mostly text and graphics, no Flash), which is phenomenal. This means that if you're using the Mac mini as a web surfing station, you're using less power than a night-light.

Apple also sponsors an extensive recycling program: The company will take back any Apple-branded product at any time, take back other manufacturers' PCs when you buy a new Mac, and even give you a gift card when you recycle some products. If you're reusing an older monitor or using the Mac mini with your HDTV, that's even more economical or green, since you won't have to buy a new monitor and get rid of its packing materials either. For all these reasons, we whole-heartedly award the Apple Mac mini the PCMag GreenTech Approved award.

You can configure the Mac mini with a faster 2.66-GHz Core 2 Duo option, larger 500GB hard drive, or more memory (4GB or 8GB). Are there any features I think are missing from the Mac mini that I really, really want? Just one: a Blu-ray drive option. However, the lack of Blu-ray is not surprising, since Apple wants you to buy your all HD content from iTunes, or stream it over the Internet.

The system comes with Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1 for peripherals like the optional Apple wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse ($148 direct, ). If the Mac mini had included a Blu-ray drive for its base $699 price or a small upgrade fee, it would be a perfect "one-box" companion for your HDTV or home theater system. As it is, you can still hook the Mac mini up to your HDTV to surf the web, watch Netflix Instant View, Amazon On Demand, Hulu, and a plethora of other HTML5, Microsoft Silverlight, and Adobe Flash videos that exist on the Internet. "Almost perfect" is pretty darn appealing.

Performance
Trailers and videos on QuickTime HD in 1080p were smooth and immersive on both the Apple's 24-inch LED Cinema Display (via Mini DisplayPort) and HDTV (via HDMI). Watching YouTube HD videos, like Inside the Magic's 720p HD coverage of the new World of Color show out at Disneyland Resort, were stutter free and smooth, as far as streaming content can be. The other services like Vimeo, Ustream, and Funnyordie.com were just as good. The same is the case for downloaded videos: Once you have the right codecs, you can watch just about anything you download on the Mac mini.

The Mac mini was a decent performer at the benchmarks that include significant improvements at the 3D tests. The Mac mini completed our Photoshop CS4 test in 3 minutes, 41 seconds in Mac OS X, and a slightly quicker 3:16 in Windows 7 under Boot Camp. This time is relatively slow compared to newer quad core processors, but it's far faster than any nettop I've seen. Some can take upwards of 8 to 10 minutes on the CS4 test. The Intel Core i3–powered Dell Inspiron 580s ($618 direct , ) is a better performer at the CS4 test (1:35). However, among its compact rivals, both nettop and compact desktop, the Apple Mac mini is the performance leader.

Where the Mac mini surprises is at the 3D tests, I tested the system using 3DMark Vantage, Crysis, and World in Conflict in Windows 7 under Boot Camp. The Mac mini blew away the nettop competition, including the Dell Inspiron Zino HD. The Zino was able to muster single-digit scores at both Crysis and World in Conflict (5 fps each). However, the Mac mini was almost playable at World in Conflict (24 fps), and not far behind at Crysis (21 fps). Yes, a larger, (much) more expensive entry-level gaming tower like the Gateway FX6831-01 ($1,300 list, ) will blow away the Mac mini at 3D gaming. However, it's notable that the Mac mini can actually process 3D animation at more than a rudimentary level. It more than doubles the 3D performance from the previous Mac mini (2.26-GHz Core 2 Duo). You should be able to play games like World of Warcraft and glue yourself to your couch playing WoW on your HDTV rather than growing roots in the office chair in your den.

Just about the only direct competition to the Apple Mac mini is the Dell Inspiron Zino HD. Both are more capable than the compact nettops on the market, and both are priced accordingly. That said, the only place where the Zino HD outshines the Mac mini is it's available with a Blu-ray option. All other aspects belong to the Mac mini: compact size, construction, performance, and energy efficiency. It's even more suitable for the compact PC buyer and HTPC (enthusiast than our previous Editors' Choice, the Acer Aspire Revo R3610-U9012 ($330 list, ). Sure, the Acer is less expensive ($330), but it's also far less capable on a performance and features basis. You wouldn't want to do much more than take care of the occasional red eye or auto color correct your photos on the Acer, but you can certainly do a little light photo editing and multimedia work on the Mac mini.

Blu-ray would have been a killer option here, but as it is, if you want a compact, quiet, powerful desktop for your den, bedroom, or living room: Get an Apple Mac mini with HDMI. It's the compact nettop killer, and is finally the perfect PC for enjoying Internet programming and downloads.

Apple Mac mini (HDMI)

Bottom Line: The Apple Mac mini (HDMI) is an all-around improvement with a new unibody aluminum chassis to match the rest of the Macintosh line. The mini is the mainstream, compact PC you've been searching for, and it <i>defines</i> its category.

Read More

About the Author

Joel Santo Domingo is the Lead Analyst for the Desktops team at PC Magazine Labs. He joined PC Magazine in 2000, after 7 years of IT work for companies large and small. His background includes managing mobile, desktop and network infrastructure on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. Joel is proof that you can escape the retail grind: he wore ... See Full Bio

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.